Steemit: Welcome to the International Internet of PEOPLE!
As regulars to these pages my remember, I ended up joining Steemit pretty much by accident.
A friend of mine — who sadly passed a way a couple of years ago — was very interested in "alternative" forms of income, and he was especially interested in the idea of "Universal Basic Income," or UBI.
But he wasn't entirely convinced that the idea of government funded UBI was the best way to go, so he was exploring various private interpretations of how it might be possible to afford people a modest income stream in exchange for performing some kind of basic daily task.
Anyway, he'd often send me articles and white papers from projects he'd come across, and ask me my opinion about them.
So, as part of his regular information flow, he messaged me on Facebook back in January 2017 with a link to an article about yet another private-ish/investor based Basic Income project.
As it happened, the author of the article had written his piece here on Steemit.
As it turned out, that project struck me as yet another "fumble in the dark" with little chance of seeing functional implementation. However, I was impressed by the lively and respectful discussion in the comment section... something that was sorely lacking on Facebook.
In fact, I was impressed enough that I decided to poke around the community, and then impressed enough to create a Steem account. At that point, I had zero interest in the crypto angle, zero interest in blockchain, zero interest in yet another venue promising "rewards" for creating content... but I did have an interest in returning to one of the activities I always enjoyed most online: "Social Blogging."
Long story short, whereas there is no refuting that I do use the web as an information resource, I am generally far more interested in "the Internet of PEOPLE" than "the Internet of THINGS" or "the Internet of INFORMATION."
And I think that is, perhaps what makes this such an appealing community... people come here from all over the globe and tell their personal stories from their corners of the world. Although — obviously — Facebook is globe spanning, that giant site has far less of an international feeling to it.
It's the people here that makes it interesting... and perhaps that is really what ought to be the focus in marketing the community to the external world.
Just thinking out loud, here.
Thanks for reading, and have a marvelous weekend!
How about YOU? What do you think the greatest asset of the community is? What appeal "angle" is most likely to attract users that will help create a sustainable community? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 20210326 22:08 PDT
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These are thought provoking comments! The strength of Steemit that I see so far is that it truly does connect people from different parts of the world. Facebook does not truly do that and I fear it may be by design. Facebook steers users towards people they already know, and topics they have already proven an interest in.
Steemit, on the other hand, allows anyone to connect with people they may never otherwise have crossed paths with. That leaves room for personal and social growth, instead of reinforcing what we already know about the world.
As for UBI, I am a proponent and I suspect that it will become a reality in many nations. Already the Covid-19 pandemic has encouraged governments to experiment with it. As the economy continues along a path of rapid change, there will be too many deskilled workers to avoid the creation of UBI solutions.
Cryptocurrencies are disruptive, but it is still early to tell exactly how disruptive it will become. Usually, when something new becomes disruptively viable, it is co-opted by those in power. Crypto appears to be going down that path. Alternative economies are either absorbed or suppressed.
So, on that note, I am not sure that it is possible to have a true UBI without government involvement...
Hi @brittilicious, and thanks for your thoughtful comment... which which you just demonstrated precisely what I was talking about!
You're exactly right; Facebook steers us down familiar tracks... reinforcing who and what we already know and essentially creating a sort of echo chamber for everyone. Steemit is so much more free-form, and we just get to find our way to those with stories and interests we find appealing.
In my four+ years here, I've made friends with a homesteader in Argentina; a doctor/artist from Germany who lives in Scotland; someone here in my own US home state I'd otherwise never have crossed paths with... the list is long, and far more interesting than my Facebook friends list.
I am not sure what path humanity will take, but growing automation and the current pandemic situation is pushing us quickly towards a point where there will be more humans than there is work that humans are needed to do. Regardless, I think we are (or already have?) moving towards a point where a *"single solution"( (i.e. Government) will no longer be where we end up.
Oh yes, we are already at a point where there are not enough 'middle class' jobs for all the people qualified and eager to do them. Unfortunately, some people seem to think the remedy to that is to steer working class students away from higher education, which in my mind, is the worst idea ever.
The working class is in terrible shape, as well, as available employment options are becoming worse and worse. In Canada, for example, the federal government is already trying to prepare for the widespread de-skilling that is soon to occur due to automated transportation. Apparently, as many as 30% of working age Canadian males are in the transportation industry and will be de-skilled with 10 years. I suspect the situation is similar in the US and the numbers of unemployed will be huge.
If things continue as they are, I expect 'balkanisation' will be the fate of the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Wow! interesting post. I also came here through suggestions from a well-known person, although I am still not well acquainted with this community, I am clear that here the smallest detail of people is valued, it goes through a verification, there is a fluid dialogue with the moderators doing it more interesting. In short, I do not regret having arrived here, because we are rewarded for creativity, or experiences that we have and thus we strengthen the blockchain market where we can generate more and withdraw whenever we do not need where we need it.